Every 2018-19 Premier League kit rated: Chelsea and Manchester City top our charts

The 2018-19 Premier League season is almost upon us. Amid the transfer scramble, pre-season preparations and Jose Mourinho’s pre-campaign tantrums, we’ve seen a load of beautiful kits.

Here, we rate the efforts of Nike, Umbro, Adidas, Puma, Under Armour and New Balance.

Arsenal (Puma)

2018-19 Arsenal Home kit

Apart from the neat new detail of the red on the white sleeves, Puma’s latest Arsenal home shirt isn’t all that different from previous efforts. A new era at the club deserves something special, and we’re not sure Puma have delivered. 6/10

2018-19 Arsenal Away kit

Puma consistently do a decent job with Arsenal shirts, and the club’s away kit this season is not different. The skin-tight look suits the finely-tuned professionals who’ll wear it. Whether it’ll look good on your dad when he’s making his way to the Emirates is another thing. The colour scheme is on point, mind. 7/10

The minty green colour and royal blue detailing is a new look for Arsenal, but we’re into it. As far as we’re concerned, third kits are about trying something a bit new, and Puma have done that. 7/10

Bournemouth (Umbro)

Home kit

Umbro have brought some class to the table with Bournemouth’s kit. They’ve proved on the pitch that they’re more than worthy of their Premier League status. Now they look the part too. 7.5/10

Away kit

Nothing earth shattering, but the white-and-orange away kit looks pretty slick. A solid effort across the board from Umbro. 6.5/10

Third kit

We’d offer some praise for originality on the colour scheme, but it’s not the greatest kit in their locker. Doubtful that this one will be flying off the shelves of the club shop. 6/10

Brighton (Nike)

Home kit

There’s a fine line between boring and simple, and we think Nike and Brighton are onto a winner with their home kit. The red Nike Swoosh on the blue-heavy colour scheme is a subtle but classy touch. 8/10

Away kit

Where the home kit delivers, the away kit isn’t all that. Green is a punchy choice, but it reminds us of a Norwich away shirt and isn’t a patch on the home shirt. 5/10

Burnley (Puma)

Home kit

Burnley’s kit never stood a chance with that sponsor. It’s busy, it’s in two different languages and has a giant, gaudy logo and lots of text. Puma have tried to work around the car crash in the middle of the shirt, but it’s not really doing it for us. 5/10

Third kit

A much better effort. The simpler layout of the shirt offsets the world’s busiest shirt sponsor. 6/10

Cardiff City (Adidas)

Home kit

A solid effort from Adidas and Cardiff on this one. The newly-promoted side may set out to kick lumps out of Manchester City again this season, but they’ll look rather dapper while doing it. 7.5/10

Away kit

We’re not sure why, but there’s something a bit MLS about this one, which may not be a terrible thing. The grey-and-blue colouring works quite well and the simple VISIT MALAYSIA sponsor isn’t too intrusive. 7/10

Chelsea (Nike)

Home kit

We’re going to say it: this is the best home kit of the 2018-19 Premier League season. Nike have nailed this beaut, with the interwoven stripes across the shirt’s royal blue, framing the Yokohama Tyres sponsor perfectly. Nike may have been pretty slapdash with a lot of their other kits, but this one’s a classic. 9/10

Away kit

Chelsea absolutely nailed the home kit, but the away shirts aren’t much to write home about. The striking all-yellow strips with blue detailing isn’t bad, but if I was a Chelsea fan I’d be picking up the home kit all day over this. 6.5/10

Crystal Palace (Puma)

Home kit

Another decent Puma kit ruined by a massive, busy shirt sponsor. It’s the same story as Burnley’s effort: a kit that could’ve been pretty tidy is half covered up by a woeful gambling sponsor. 5/10

Away kit

Everyone loves a sash, but like the home kit, it’s somewhat sullied by the gaudy sponsor. A shame. 6/10

Everton (Umbro)

Home kit

When this kit was launched at the end of last season, we thought Umbro had nailed it with the Umbro logos printed around the shirt’s sleeves. Then we saw the Angry Birds logo muscling its way in. A theme of the 2018-19 season seems to be that good kits are tarnished by shoddy sponsors’ logos. 7/10

Away kit

A suspect colour scheme makes this a no from us. Not sure what Umbro were going for, but they’ve ended up with a pretty average away kit. 5/10

Fulham (Adidas)

Home kit

We’re big fans of Fulham’s home kit this season. The horizontal black strip across the shirt brings something of a twist to the classic Fulham white shirt. The Dafabet sponsor may look a bit naff, but, in all, Adidas have got this right. 7.5/10

Away kit

I mean, it’s nothing special. The colour scheme manages to be bland but also a bit off, with the white trim broken up with golden text on the sponsor. 6/10

Huddersfield Town (Umbro)

Home kit

Umbro have gone for the similar approach to Huddersfield’s kit as they have with Everton and Bournemouth, with the logos wrapped around the sleeves. It’s not a bad effort, but it’s another case of a gigantic sponsor overcomplicating the shirt. 6.5/10

Away kit

It may look a bit like Bournemouth’s kit, but we reckon this one’s better than the home shirt. The red and black seems to work better with the style Umbro have gone for, but that sponsor’s still hard to get over. 7/10

Third kit

Sorry, we’re not having that one. It looks like one of those kits you’d pick from the catalogue for you kid’s Sunday team. Sorry, we’d punt for the away kit over this. 3/10

Leicester (Adidas)

Home kit

Do you know what? Leicester have their best home kit in a while since switching to Adidas. It won’t go down as one of the Premier League’s greatest kits, but it’s a decent one when pitted against the rest of the top flight. 7.5/10

Away kit

We’re not sure whether we love this one or hate it. The white King Power logo looks bolder than usual against the grey and orange, and the pattern interwoven into the shirt’s fabric is a touch. Yea, we’ve talked ourselves into it. 7/10

Liverpool (New Balance)

Home kit

Another stellar effort from Liverpool and New Balance on their home kit, but we’re not convinced it’s an improvement on last season’s shirt. 7/10

Away kit

We’re all for taking risks, especially when it comes to away and third kits, but what on earth are you planning to dress Mo Salah in this season, Liverpool? What lunatic went for a purple and orange colour scheme? 2/10

Third kit

The pattern on the shirt is beaut, but the colour is pretty, pretty dull. It’s like they designed it and then accidentally printed it out in monochrome. A shame, as this one could’ve been one for the ages. 6/10

Manchester City (Nike)

Once again, Nike have lazily wheeled out their template on Man City like they have for most of their clubs in recent years, but the collar is something we simply can’t get over on this one. It’s just plain wrong. 5/10

That’s more like it. As I’ve crowned Chelsea as the owner of the season’s best home kit, I think City take the cake on their away kit. A nod to the 1999 play-off triumph against Gillingham, with a classy navy base colour and a normal collar, this kit is everything the home shirt isn’t. 9/10

Manchester United (Adidas)

This particular image of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba conducting a silly handshake may be very irritating, but they’re wearing pretty tidy shirts. The railway line-inspired black stripes on the bottom of the shirt are a classy touch. The Chevrolet sponsor is still a bit budget-looking, but the black trim on the shirts makes this one a winner. 7.5/10

Third kit

Sticking Nemanja Matic in front of a garage door may not be Adidas’s biggest-budget shoot of the year, but they’ve done pretty well with the kit. They’ve made the often-jarring gold in the sponsor work for them, by making it part of the colour scheme. Solid effort. 7.5/10

Newcastle United (Puma)

Home, away, third

What is it with Puma kits and bad sponsors? They’re all decent kits in their own right, particularly the ice-blue third kit, but that sponsor makes them look a bit budget. Great colour choices on the away and third kits, mind. 6.5/10

Southampton (Under Armour)

Home and away

A pretty basic launch photo and, frankly, pretty basic kits for the Saints. Charlie Austin doesn’t look all that happy with the home shirt, and we can’t blame him. Not terrible, but not amazing either. 6/10

Third kit

Much better. It’s still not up there with the best of this season, but it’s a tidy kit, with two-tone red stripes and black detailing. Not bad, not bad at all. 7/10

Tottenham (Nike)

Home kit

On its own, we think it’d look pretty good, with the navy blue fading up to the classic Spurs white. With matching shorts, we can see it looking a bit strange, as if Harry Kane is running around with his shorts up too high. 6.5/10

Watford (Adidas)

Home kit

Yes, yes, YES. If your nickname’s the Hornets, then bloody act like it. Sorry, getting out of hand there. The black and yellow stripes look absolutely boss on this season’s home shirt, and, as you may be able to tell, we’re all for it. 8/10

Away kit

Yep, we’re having that one too. The green shirt is a bold colour to try and pull off, and we think Adidas have just about done it. The retro pattern on the shirt and the lime-green detail make it pop. Well done. 8/10

West Ham (Umbro)

West Ham fans are getting excited again. They’re signing players like nobody’s business and they’ve got a banging set of Umbro kits to boot.

Another touch. The gold Umbro sign and detail on the badge works perfectly with the deep blue. It’s a similar colour scheme to Man United’s third kit, just executed better. 8/10

Third kit

The third kit isn’t a patch on the home and away shirts, but it’s still a tidy effort. Umbro have delivered across the board for West Ham this season. 7/10

Wolves (Adidas)

Home kit

Not a bad effort from the newcomers. The classic gold home shirt isn’t the most exciting, but it does the job. 6.5/10

Away kit

Swansea may have been relegated last season, but it may appear to some that they’re still with us in the top flight, given that Wolves’ away kit looks exactly like their home shirts. I’m being facetious. It’s not a bad kit, but it does look like a Swans shirt with the logos switched out… 6.5/10

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